Vogue Watch: ‘Before the Flood’ by Leonardo DiCaprio

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On Monday evening, I was invited to a one-night-only screening of Leonardo Dicaprio’s Before the Flood, his much acclaimed documentary on climate change. Co-hosted by Vikram Gupta of Gaia Conservation Foundation, Godrej and Sanctuary Magazine, this private showcase left many guests including myself terrified for the future of our planet. The film trails DiCaprio across cities and continents—from the rainforests in Sumatra to smog-filled New Delhi, the glaciers of Antarctica to the private quarters of the Pope in Vatican City, in his quest to find out more about global warming and the changes affecting our world.

The documentary is enlightening, terrifying, and heart-wrenching in equal measures. Undoubtedly the most pressing issues of our time, it is being ignored by large sections, especially political leaders. Two days after I watched the film, US president Trump, a climate change denier, muzzled the Environmental Protection Agency (along with other government organisations), froze their grants and also passed orders for the building of multiple controversial pipelines.

This film uses DiCaprio’s star power in a way that’s incredible, traverses boundaries (including walls!), and should be mandatory viewing for any responsible citizen.